Home Page
Imagination: About Coaching
Imagination
Noun, 1: the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality.
2 a: creative ability b: ability to confront and deal with a problem.Bringing my imagination to help my clients live creatively.
“Coaching is partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.”
Definition from International Coach Federation“Coaching honors the client as the expert in his/her life and work and believes that every client is creative, resourceful, and whole. Standing on this foundation, the coach’s responsibility is to discover, clarify, and align with what the client wants to achieve; encourage client self-discovery; elicit client generated solutions and strategies and hold the client responsible and accountable.”
Definition from Minnesota Coaches Association
What is Coaching?
Through coaching, you will focus on the skills and actions you need to successfully produce your desired results. My job as your coach is to elicit the skills and creativity you already possess, rather than offering you instruction or advice. I believe that you are creative and completely capable of finding your own answers to whatever challenges you face.I use powerful questions, deep listening, observation, values clarification, imagery, and a variety of tools and exercises to help you determine your goals, tap into your intrinsic creative gifts, achieve your most fulfilling, balanced life, and reach your magnificent potential.
Our coaching sessions are typically over the phone, though they may also be in person. You bring a topic for discussion, and describe where or why you want help or assistance. The coaching relationship is confidential, trusting, honest and spacious, and we both commit to this. I will listen and guide you, keeping in mind your stated desired outcome. Sometimes you come to the coaching session focused on an aspect of life which highlights a bigger agenda needing attention - a greater vision for what you may want to do with your life or how you will live it. I will assist you in working on the smallest details and your biggest vision.
As your coach, I ensure you are steering toward fulfillment and balance in your life, and engaged in the process of living. Once you agree to take an action, you are accountable to me–you will tell me when you intend to do it, and let me know when you have completed the action. Then we celebrate! Structures are set in place to help you be accountable. Often the greatest learning is between coaching sessions when you will reflect on what came out of the coaching session, and take actions with greater insight. Coaching helps you set an intention for your life, and then deal with what comes your way.
What Coaching Is Not
Coaching is not consulting. Coaching is about facilitating exploration, expanding awareness, making decisions, taking action and designing environments that support your vision. I may use my knowledge base to assist in guiding a client, but only if it will serve my client's best interests. When I consult or instruct, I will shift hats to that of a consultant or instructor.
Coaching is not therapy. Coaches don't work on "issues" or get into the past or deal much with understanding human behavior. Coaching is not intended to heal or fix anything. Simply put coaching takes us beyond the places we normally stop when left to ourselves.
Coaching includes several principles from sports coaching, like teamwork, going for the goal, being your best. But unlike sports coaching, most professional coaching is not competition or win/lose based. Coaching strengthens the client's skills vs. helping them beat the other team. It's win/win.
Coaching is not a friendship relationship. A best friend plays a vital role in one's life. Because of the emotional connection with a friend, it is difficult for a friend to be objective and advise you on the most important aspects of your life and/or business. Have a best friend and a coach.
Why Hire a Coach?
As your coach, I can support you to clarify and honor your values; get results; and consciously design and fully live your life. You may address any area of your life in coaching. Among others, coaching topics can include:
1. Increasing knowledge, skill, and confidence in self and others
2. Setting and maintaining personal priorities & boundaries
3. Creating the life that you desire
4. Managing time, stress and energy
5. Launching a new career
6. Improving relationships and interpersonal effectiveness
7. Balancing work and life
8. Finding your ideal job
9. Starting a new business
10. Building a high performing collaborative team
11. Transitioning from manager to leader
12. Being recognized, rewarded and promoted
13. Dealing with difficult people
14. Reaching challenging goals / accelerating results
15. Changing a work culture
16. Exploring creativity and creative endeavors
17. Successfully applying to, and graduating from, school
18. Following any project through to completion
19. Increasing productivity, quality and customer service
20. Being mindful, present, and awakening spiritHow Does Coaching Work?
I offer potential clients a free 30 minute sample phone coaching session. We will mutually determine after the sample session if you would like to hire me as a coach.Once we decide to work together, our first session will be an hour and one-half session called discovery. Discovery familiarizes you with the coaching process, and provides an opportunity for us to design how we will work together. There are assessment forms to complete in advance, and we will discuss your responses to determine current opportunities and challenges, identify priorities for action, and establish specific desired outcomes. I will lead you in a guided meditation to help you imagine your fulfilled future.
After the discovery session, coaching sessions are scheduled in advance on a monthly basis, at a set time, with two forty-five minute phone sessions per month, and a required minimum commitment of three months. I generally have appointment availability on Mondays. After three months, the duration of the coaching relationship depending on your needs and preferences, but is typically between six and twelve months. Between scheduled sessions, you may be asked to complete specific actions that support achieving your stated goal. We occasionally correspond by email between sessions so you can report progress on actions you’ve taken. I might recommend additional resources to you such as books, relevant articles, classes or workshops, checklists, assessments, models, music, art, poetry, meditation, journaling, physical practices, etc. to support desired shifts in thinking and actions. I will provide you with a coaching prep form to help you prepare for each session.
Successful coaching requires your financial investment as well as your commitment of time, energy, honesty, and action. Benefits from coaching include opening possibilities, providing fresh perspectives, breaking through barriers, enhancing thinking and decision making, improving interpersonal effectiveness, and increasing confidence and results. The discovery session fee is $150, and the monthly coaching fee is $150 for two forty-five minute phone sessions. For more information about Wendy, her biography and experience, please click here.Optional Assessments
The Coach Training Institute has developed two assessment wheels that Wendy uses as part of the discovery coaching session: 1) Personal Assessment Wheel and 2) Professional Assessment Wheel.Wendy is certified to administer and interpret the EQ-i® (Bar-on Emotional Quotient Inventory), on behalf of MHS, Multi-Health Systems, Inc. Psychological Assessments & Services. This assessment can be administered and interpreted as part of ongoing coaching with Wendy, or offered independently. Fee is $200.
Your Life's Path online testing assessments:
All assessments are taken online and the testing web site is available 24 hours a day. Your report includes a consultation to review your results via email or phone. All consultants are certified MBTI® practitioners. Fees depend on which testing tool you use.
Original art on all pages © Wendy Lane.
Web page design: robyn(at)paintedturtledesign.com
If you are curious about what coaching can do for you - jump in! Contact Wendy to schedule a complimentary session.
Artist Coach Wendy Lane at: wendy@artistcoachwendylane.com